Answers

How small is small?
What kind of soil have you got - acid/alkaline/neutral?
How much sun does it get? Is it exposed?
What kind of plants do you like - evergreens, shrubs, perennials?
Will you be starting with a blank canvas - what's there at the moment?

small = 1.5m x 2.5m x 3m triangle, i am only re-doing this small amout of the front.
soil= clay + PH is around 7
front gets more sun than the back, sometimes a fair amout.
i prefur plants that come back every year, so i dont have to keep buying more to replace them.
only turf at the moment and am planning to remove it.

Alex long, any chance of a photograph of the area? Its hard to visualise a triangle, especially when we can't tell where that is in relation to the house or any walls, trees next door or in the street, etc. You say it gets more sun at certain times of year - could it be north facing, which would mean total shade in winter, but a lot of sun in summer? And what part of the country are you in (to work out how hardy your plants need to be).